Brains Anyone?

A recent email conversation among friends really got me thinking about some of our flawed assumptions regarding "intelligence" and "braininess".

The IITs and IIMs are widely believed to be among the best educational institutes in India. However the scope of teaching in these institutes is essentially limited to Engineering and Business Management. Entry into IITs and IIMs requires scoring high in a tough and very competitive exam. For the IITs it is the JEE, and for the IIMs it is CAT. Passing these tests requires a certain type of ability, and if you have that ability in abundance, you are more likely than others to get into one of these "elite" institutions. For example, the JEE requires you to be good in solving certain types of problems in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

A lot of people assume that the ability to score high on these entrance tests is the definitive measure of intelligence or braininess. I studied in one of the IITs, and used to carry the same impression. Until I got into the workforce and experienced real life!

My brother-in-law Sunil is in the Indian Army. Since the time he was a little boy Sunil wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Armed Forces. I have spent many hours with him discussing the Army and many other subjects. Sunil is an extremely organized person, a deep thinker, and great communicator. His approach to real life problems always impresses me, and I am not surprised that he has been very successful. He did not go to IIT or IIM, but he is a lot more intelligent than me in certain ways. I have met hundreds of people like Sunil who have great abilities that are perhaps different from mine, and I have learnt a lot from all these people.

Many of my friends are wonderful doctors, journalists, government officers, teachers, and business persons. These are very intelligent people who did not need a label to be successful in their professions. Last time I checked P. Chidambaram, APJ Abdul Kalam or Montek Singh Ahluwalia did not go to IIT or IIM. Neither did Dhirubhai Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Karsenbhai Patel, or Tulsi Tanti. Or for that matter Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, or Naseeruddin Shah.

In the last few months I have had the privilege of meeting several young Indians who have impressed me enormously. Naman Bhandula is a confident 19 year old studying for a degree in engineering. He knows what he wants, carries himself confidently, and just seems to have those qualities that will make him very successful at what he does. Charu Singh is an 18 year old young lady, who wants to be a lawyer. I met Charu for the first time a few months ago, and was mightily impressed by her confidence, the ready smile, and also how much potential she has.

My niece Ashima Arora is pursuing a graduate degree in IT, and I can definitely bet a large sum of money that she will be much more successful than me. And finally Kirat Singh, an 18 year old from Delhi, has just gone to Cornell University to pursue a degree in Liberal Arts. The amazing Kirat has been a very active participant of the "Save Tiger" movement in India, writes his own blog, and worked his way towards an admission at Cornell. If he had not gone to Cornell, he would have pursued a degree in Delhi University. I know for sure, as much as it is possible to "know" these things in advance, that Kirat will create a huge impact in the world.

None of these kids is going to IIT, and they may or may not go to the IIMs. However it does not matter. The ability to pass a specific test is not what these kids are about. They have the kind of all round "intelligence" that I can only dream about, and I am really excited to see them move on and become tomorrow's leaders.

I am happy that Charu, Naman, Ashima, and Kirat's generation has moved on beyond labels like IIT/IIM as a measure of intelligence.